Why is the first great ’88′ forgotten?

Those were the words of Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher who raced over more grass than the mowing crew at the JW Marriott PGA golf course as he was inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Ohio.

Emmitt, one of the truly super stars of the pro football galaxy, is also a humble, considering who he is, and congenial superstar.

He joins recent Dallas Cowboy Hall members Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, who wore number “88″ during his Dallas career.

In 1985, when another Cowboy from a past generation was enshrined into the ultimate museum of gridiron greats, he told me, “If it weren’t for Drew, I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.”

Those were the words of Roger Staubach, perhaps the best overall team leader the Cowboys ever had at quarterback and still one of the most popular players to ever wear the Cowboys star.

I am still wondering why Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, continues to reject and ignore the first number “88″ of stardom, Drew Pearson, in considering him for a place of notice in the elite Ring of Honor, and why the storied NFL has totally bypassed Pearson’s name when it comes to nominating players for the Canton bust factory.

2005 E-N file photo

The Dallas Cowboys’ first No. 88, Drew Pearson.

The legendary Express-News sportswriter Dan Cook, who died in 2009, wrote a column several years ago asking the same question of Mr. Jones in reference to Drew’s absence in the ring.

But I would also question why the one-time quarterback from the University of Tulsa has never been on a final list of players for the NFL selection committee to consider.

True, Drew didn’t have the speed of a Jerry Rice or the size of a Michael Irvin, but he had a pair of the greatest hands this side of a Van Cliburn piano concerto.

He was a spindly legged quarterback/receiver when he ventured to Tulsa out of New Jersey’s South River High School, where he had been the quarterback succeeding another player who was pretty famous himself, Joe Theisman.

He reported to Dallas in 1973 as a free agent and was given as much chance to make the team as Dustin Hoffman was in replacing Charlton Heston as Ben Hur.

But all Pearson did, as he stuffed that fluffy Afro haircut beneath his helmet, was etch his name into the record books with 7,822 receiving yards,189 rushing yards, 489 receptions, 50 touchdowns, including two fumble recovery TDs, and returned several kickoffs.

He was honored by being named to the NFL 1970′S All Decade Team and All-Pro in the 1974, 1976 and 1977 seasons. He led the league in pass receptions in 1976 with 58 and was selected offensive captain of the Cowboys in ’77, ’78, ’82 and ’83.

He was instrumental in helping the Cowboys to three Super Bowls and a victory in Super Bowl XII and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl X, which was played in 1978.

In 1980, Drew was selected as the Cowboys’ nominee for the NFL Man of the Year. Roger and teammates nicknamed Pearson, “Mr. Clutch” because of his numerous climactic catches in game-winning situations. This included his miraculous grab of the famous “Hail, Mary” pass from Roger in the December 1975 playoff game against Minnesota to give the Cowboys a 17-4 victory as time ran out. Drew danced into the end zone transforming a wild and jubilant Vikings crowd into a saddened, shocked and silenced throng that might have been attending a funeral.

The “Hail Mary” is considered one of the top plays in NFL history.

In 1973, Pearson caught the game-winning pass against the Los Angeles Rams and in 1974, hauled down the long bomb from Clint Longley against the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving Day.

He is number 10 on the greatest Dallas Cowboys list and he continues to stop traffic in Dallas shopping malls and is mobbed by fans when he shows up at a Cowboys game.

Roger and Drew formed a partnership in the early 80s and it carried on for years into the business called “Drew Pearson Enterprises,” one of the nation’s most successful cap manufacturers with contracts involving all major professional teams.

In the 90s, his company was named one of the top five black businesses in the nation by Ebony magazine.

A few years ago, Pearson sold the company to the Hong Kong manufacturing division that produced the caps but he is still the front man for the organization, making appearances and speeches.

He has ventured into radio and television both as an announcer and color analyst. In 1984, Drew and I former a partnership that carried us through nine TV Cowboy specials including the 20th anniversary of the “Hail Mary” pass.

In 2008, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, which includes some famous stars who were immortalized by the Tulsa selection committee. That same night, Bob Bass, the former Spurs coach and general manager and executive with several others NBA teams, was also inducted.

Drew remains modest and famous. He spends time on the road making appearances, helping raise his grandchildren and taking care of his sister Denise, who has been ill for several years.

Never involved in any sports headlines involving drugs, ladies of the night or bar scrapes, Drew epitomizes who a former NFL star should be.

His best friend, Roger, cannot understand why Drew isn’t in the Ring nor the Hall.

Neither can I, along with a lot of sports scribes and fans. Tom Orsborn of the Express-News, who covers the Cowboys, has reported that Jones doesn’t plan to add any new names to the Ring of Honor in 2010.

First round draft choice Dez Bryant from Oklahoma State is now wearing number “88,” and if he’s lucky, somewhere in the texture of that jersey will be a few threads linking him to the character, talent and personality of the first great “88,” Drew Pearson.

“Thanks to Moose.” — Emmitt Smith NFL Hall of Fame 2010.

“I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame if it weren’t for Drew” — Roger Staubach: 1985.

Gary DeLaune

2 Responses

It’s Jones team now! He forgets the past. New Stadium, his players getting into the ring of honor and hall of fame. Heck, he even changed the name of the Cowboys weekly magazine. I’m not sure DP will ever get in now. But we all know he was the greatest of his era!

Agree totally. I assumed he was already in it. He definitely deserves to be there and the sooner the better. He was a class act as a player and was a tremendous receiver. I’ll never forget those days of 88 catching tough passes.

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